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My MBP = Crapbook pro, polite apple care though

poppe

poppe

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 29, 2006
2,248
53
Woodland Hills
Here is what my 2.33 C2D MBP with 2 gigs does:

Random Restarts, both on windows and apple.

Windows is usually a little more stable in the sense of programs crashing and speed of them opening.

- Firefox takes on average about 2 minutes to start (even the manager of the apple genius who was looking at my computer said, oh god that is taking a long time).
- I have uneven back light (some times).
- When clicking on finder then Applications after a restart. Applications takes about 15 seconds to load.
- After a restart it takes about a 45-60 seconds to boot up (sometimes if I am lucky I get close to 30 seconds).
- My Screen creeks when it opens ( some times). I have to force quit applications on a daily basis. Some times when I am lucky it wakes up from sleep.
- Two days ago I put my MBP to sleep 3 different times and suddenly on each time I heard the OS X start up ping. (it's fricken restarting just by closing).
- Windows after second day of boot camp had random restarts about 5 times, but after about 2 days of use it is not the stablest operating system on my MBP.
- Typing this very message is a little bit annoying because there is some stuttering in the text once and while. (I am typing nothing is happening, words catch up).

I told the Apple Genius about this problem but he said it was because of programs like cleardock on here. First thing that screwed me over obviously. I told him the problems, he then opened my MBP and went oh......... you have modifications on your MBP. So for the rest of the 2 and half hours in the store (doing the various tests) his answers were it's because of those apps that you are having the problems. I asked him well then why would windows be crashing as well? His response: I'll get a hard ware testing CD.

He comes back with it and runs it. Take about 20 minutes. No problems found. He has no answer for why windows runs bad as well. And basically says that this is his only solution...

I know I need to stand up and demand some sort of change, but I just wanted to let everyone know my frustration. I took it to an apple store near where I am staying (on vacation) but will take it back home and fight a little harder there.

Perhaps does anyone have any suggestions that could fix any problems?

I have done a PRAM reset about a month ago and it kinda helped maybe.

My friend (works at apple, not genius) says maybe a Power Management Unit Reset my help the uneven screen or something.

Well let me know what you think

EDIT: Oh sorry but the guy was really nice. Very polite, but not very helpful.
Also: Are the screen's supposed to be so loose? If my MBP is at to much of a tilte it completely opens or closes depending on the way you have it opened. It is really annoying... moving all the time when I am carrying it and what not..
 
miniConvert

miniConvert

macrumors 68040
Mar 4, 2006
3,264
3
Kent, UK - the 'Garden of England'.
If i were you I'd do an archive and install so you've got a fresh copy of OS X and see if problems continue. Bootcamp is in Beta so, moaning about that wont wash with Apple. I'd recommend getting rid of it if that's possible during the troubleshooting phase.

Also, if you've made any hardware alterations I'd recommend returning the machine to its original state.

If problems continue, get back to the Apple store. They'll have no excuses then. Also, remember that in a store you have oodles of power - they don't want you making a scene in front of potential customers. You're in control.

Hopefully, if problems do persist, you can convince them that the unit is a lemon and that they should replace it. Play up your disappointment, your desperate want for the MBP and OS X, and, most importantly, make sure the person you're dealing with wants to help you.
 
poppe

poppe

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 29, 2006
2,248
53
Woodland Hills
Gee said:
How about uninstalling cleardock and whatever other mods you have on?
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying, but then that shouldn't make windows crash as well since iI have firefox and Age of empires as the only thing installed on the windows side.

miniConvert said:
If i were you I'd do an archive and install so you've got a fresh copy of OS X and see if problems continue. Bootcamp is in Beta so, moaning about that wont wash with Apple. I'd recommend getting rid of it if that's possible during the troubleshooting phase.

Also, if you've made any hardware alterations I'd recommend returning the machine to its original state.

If problems continue, get back to the Apple store. They'll have no excuses then. Also, remember that in a store you have oodles of power - they don't want you making a scene in front of potential customers. You're in control.

Hopefully, if problems do persist, you can convince them that the unit is a lemon and that they should replace it. Play up your disappointment, your desperate want for the MBP and OS X, and, most importantly, make sure the person you're dealing with wants to help you.
Click to expand...

Ok that sounds good. He mentioned an archive install. Mods are strictly software. Thank you good advice!
 
theBB

theBB

macrumors 68020
Jan 3, 2006
2,453
3
iW00t said:
If software crashes the whole system then sorry, OS X sucks as much as Wind0ze.
Click to expand...
There is a difference between regular applications and system modifications.

You sound very negative about Macs for a person who hangs out at these forums. How come?
 
jeremy.king

jeremy.king

macrumors 603
Jul 23, 2002
5,479
1
Holly Springs, NC
Your RSS issues sound like bad RAM to me. I had a bad stick that wouldn't hold its contents during Sleep, so when I put the machine to sleep and tried to wake it up, it would reboot! :eek: I only determined this after putting the same stick in the wife's MB. A simple call to NewEgg and I got a replacement stick.

PS - the RAM issues were not detected by RAM testing software like memtest or rember.
 
mkrishnan

mkrishnan

Moderator emeritus
Jan 9, 2004
29,776
15
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
kingjr3 said:
iWoot is by far the most bipolar Mac user on these forums. I wonder if he and generik are the same...
Click to expand...

:D

I'm just sayin'....

Seriously, though, bad RAM, a bad HD, or some other systemic issue like that sounds most likely. Unless of course you also loaded up Windows with a bunch of system hacks. In which case you really ought to try running the system without any modifications for at least a few minutes before you make a determination on what is causing your problems.
 
mmmcheese

mmmcheese

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2006
948
0
mkrishnan said:
:D

I'm just sayin'....

Seriously, though, bad RAM, a bad HD, or some other systemic issue like that sounds most likely. Unless of course you also loaded up Windows with a bunch of system hacks. In which case you really ought to try running the system without any modifications for at least a few minutes before you make a determination on what is causing your problems.
Click to expand...

Sounds like RAM or HDD to me as well...

My recommendation for the original poster. Backup your HDD. Install OSX fresh (no partitions, or archive and install, or anything like that). Run memtest (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24508) and see if it fails. Then run an HDD scanner (I don't have a recommendation for this one). If things are still acting this way, take it to apple in this state, then they have nothing to complain about, or use as a cop-out.

It's a pain, yes, but if it solves your problems, then it is worth it IMO.
 
patrick0brien

patrick0brien

macrumors 68040
Oct 24, 2002
3,246
9
The West Loop
-poppe

I just got my MBPC2D back from repair, and a lot of your issues can stem from what was wrong with mine - and I'm beginning to see a pattern in MacFixIt of others having similar issues.

It starts with "strange sleep behavior (tm)", e.g.

1. It's closed, all indications it's asleep, yet you still get email 'pings'.
2. It's hot as hell when you pull it from your bag - asleep.
3. Restarts after sleep.

You have stuff that goes beyond just sleep, but I believe they all related.

You see, I had symptoms 1, 2, and 3, and they wound up replacing the MoBo. At first they thought it was a 'bad sleep switch' but apparently, it goes deeper.

If you are waranteed still, get it taken care of - if you are pesky enough, they should send you an app that snoops your machine's logs and returns them to the mother ship for analysis.

BTW- #'s 2 & 3 above are directly related. the Intel-based machines take a bit longer to sleep than the PPC ones, if you close and move (to the bag) right away, you risk triggering the Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS), if you do it hard enough, you may hear the drive park with a 'thonk' noise, and the machine will restart. Sometimes, the sleep can take long enough - (30 seconds + if you were running scripts or doing something goofy), that I'd be walking away from work, outside, and I'd hear the restart 'bong'. This is #2, if it restarts in the bag, it's try to breathe in your bag for a few minutes.

Oh, and I personally keep my system as 'vanilla' as possible, e.g. no haxies like ClearDock, as they introduce an unknown factor to the equation - but that's just me.
 
I

isleofjib

macrumors regular
Jan 21, 2007
191
0
CT
poppe, was your MBP refurb or new? did you add RAM or did it come stock with 2GB? the lid shouldn't be that loose. and i agree with the assessment of RAM. it's known to cause very quirky behavior and random crashes. it also explains why it happens in windows too. like someone said, it's easy enough to check out and the genius bar should be willing to do that for you. but if the lid is that loose, have the genius bar look at it, too. with mulitple things wrong with it-in front of a bunch of people-they may give you a replacement. make them fix the problem tho, one way or the other.
 
poppe

poppe

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 29, 2006
2,248
53
Woodland Hills
kingjr3 said:
Your RSS issues sound like bad RAM to me. I had a bad stick that wouldn't hold its contents during Sleep, so when I put the machine to sleep and tried to wake it up, it would reboot! :eek: I only determined this after putting the same stick in the wife's MB. A simple call to NewEgg and I got a replacement stick.

PS - the RAM issues were not detected by RAM testing software like memtest or rember.
Click to expand...

Well they ran a Hard ware test at the apple store and didn't get a single thing. But that sounds like one of my problems as well...

mkrishnan said:
:D

I'm just sayin'....

Seriously, though, bad RAM, a bad HD, or some other systemic issue like that sounds most likely. Unless of course you also loaded up Windows with a bunch of system hacks. In which case you really ought to try running the system without any modifications for at least a few minutes before you make a determination on what is causing your problems.
Click to expand...

OS X is the only operating system that is customized. Windows has Firefox and Age of Empires 3 on it...

mmmcheese said:
Sounds like RAM or HDD to me as well...

My recommendation for the original poster. Backup your HDD. Install OSX fresh (no partitions, or archive and install, or anything like that). Run memtest (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24508) and see if it fails. Then run an HDD scanner (I don't have a recommendation for this one). If things are still acting this way, take it to apple in this state, then they have nothing to complain about, or use as a cop-out.

It's a pain, yes, but if it solves your problems, then it is worth it IMO.
Click to expand...

Sounds like what I am going to have to do...

patrick0brien said:
-poppe

I just got my MBPC2D back from repair, and a lot of your issues can stem from what was wrong with mine - and I'm beginning to see a pattern in MacFixIt of others having similar issues.

It starts with "strange sleep behavior (tm)", e.g.

1. It's closed, all indications it's asleep, yet you still get email 'pings'.
2. It's hot as hell when you pull it from your bag - asleep.
3. Restarts after sleep.

You have stuff that goes beyond just sleep, but I believe they all related.

You see, I had symptoms 1, 2, and 3, and they wound up replacing the MoBo. At first they thought it was a 'bad sleep switch' but apparently, it goes deeper.

If you are waranteed still, get it taken care of - if you are pesky enough, they should send you an app that snoops your machine's logs and returns them to the mother ship for analysis.

BTW- #'s 2 & 3 above are directly related. the Intel-based machines take a bit longer to sleep than the PPC ones, if you close and move (to the bag) right away, you risk triggering the Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS), if you do it hard enough, you may hear the drive park with a 'thonk' noise, and the machine will restart. Sometimes, the sleep can take long enough - (30 seconds + if you were running scripts or doing something goofy), that I'd be walking away from work, outside, and I'd hear the restart 'bong'. This is #2, if it restarts in the bag, it's try to breathe in your bag for a few minutes.

Oh, and I personally keep my system as 'vanilla' as possible, e.g. no haxies like ClearDock, as they introduce an unknown factor to the equation - but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Oh man... I have all 3 problems... I could maybe be triggering my motion sensor. I never thought of that...

isleofjib said:
poppe, was your MBP refurb or new? did you add RAM or did it come stock with 2GB? the lid shouldn't be that loose. and i agree with the assessment of RAM. it's known to cause very quirky behavior and random crashes. it also explains why it happens in windows too. like someone said, it's easy enough to check out and the genius bar should be willing to do that for you. but if the lid is that loose, have the genius bar look at it, too. with mulitple things wrong with it-in front of a bunch of people-they may give you a replacement. make them fix the problem tho, one way or the other.
Click to expand...


Everything came from apple and it was a brand new system. I ordered it the day the C2D's became available...

To All:

Sounds like I will have to just do a clean install and have nothing on here. Go in and complain. and hope they won't turn me away this time...
 
Sesshi

Sesshi

macrumors G3
Jun 3, 2006
8,113
1
One Nation Under Gordon
Clean install is the best solution to conclusively tie it down to the machine. Load a standard install and use Apple apps only for a while.

I'm sure the OS will be just as relatively unreliable even if you reinstall - but you will have a basis to make a formal complaint on. It's now standard practice for me to do the same as the PC's I buy, reinstall the OS to make sure there's nothing wrong with the core installation.
 
patrick0brien

patrick0brien

macrumors 68040
Oct 24, 2002
3,246
9
The West Loop
-poppe

Sesshi is right. If you start with a clean install, you remove doubt on the software end.

And I'm reminded that is what Apple will ask you to do, sorry, I forgot. ;)
 
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